


Future's So Bright

by Tarlan



Series: Future's So Bright [1]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsheplets, Community: trope_bingo, Established Relationship, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-01
Updated: 2013-04-01
Packaged: 2017-12-07 04:38:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/744341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a one-time lover springs a surprise on Rodney, John makes the decision for all of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Future's So Bright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [raphe1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raphe1/gifts).



> Written for:  
>  **mcsheplets** prompt #146 Discover, **trope_bingo** Prompt: Kidfic and **ancientctybingo** prompt Family

With all the many times Rodney had accused John of not being able to keep his dick in his pants, alluding to alien priestesses, chieftain's daughters and Ascended women, it came as a shock to discover Rodney was the one who had a kid. Unsurprisingly, the existence of this kid came as a complete shock to both of them.

John stared down at the eight year old boy who was the spitting image of his father, right down to the quirky mouth and intensely sharp blue eyes, and he sighed. On the other side of the wide room, he could see Rodney waving his arms about as he talked to... okay, bitched at the boy's mother, Doctor Leanna Albany. From what John had gleaned, the boy was the result of a drunken one-night-stand after celebrating the defeat of Anubis - and saving the whole damn planet. Just an insane moment of life-affirming sex, with everyone caught up in the euphoria of still being alive.

Why she'd waited all these years before confronting Rodney was just as much a mystery as why she had chosen to come forward now. She could have slammed him with a judge's order for a paternity test within days of giving birth, or any time over the past eight years. Instead, she had remained silent, bringing the boy up on her own with no father's name on the birth certificate. It was obvious to John that she had wanted the kid but she hadn't wanted the father involved in any way. So what had changed?

"Is that my dad?"

The boy indicated towards Rodney, and John wasn't sure what to say. Without a paternity test to back it up, they still only had Albany's word on it... and the fact that the kid looked remarkably like Rodney. Too much like Rodney.

"Probably." John narrowed his eyes at Rodney, who was still ranting.

"My mom's dying."

John turned back to the boy in shock, and felt sick.

"Stay right here," he said quietly to the boy and walked over to Rodney.

"Rodney. McKAY!"

Rodney blinked at John's sharp snap of his name in a tone that demanded attention. It was his field voice for when he needed to be in total command and needed Rodney to shut up, listen and do as he said. John had only used it a few times in the relative safety of Atlantis. Leanna Albany quieted too, just as shocked by John's command tone. John turned to her, his expression softening along with his voice.

"How long?"

Her eyes begged for a moment, then she sighed. "A week on the outside. I've spent years studying the Goa'uld and Tok'ra, and working with the Tok'ra as a liaison. I've asked for... and been given permission to become a Tok'ra host." She smiled wryly. "But I cannot take Zach with me, and I have no other family." She nodded her head. "He should be with his father."

Rodney had a wide-eyed stare like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming juggernaut.

"A week?" Rodney looked horrified. "And you couldn't have said anything sooner? Oh, say some time in the past eight years and ten months?"

"I heard you had changed but I guess you're still an asshole," she hissed angrily. "This was a mistake."

Rodney pulled back in shock, and John could see the genuine regret in his expression so he stepped forward.

"No. It wasn't a mistake. Give the guy a little slack. You kind of sprung this on him... and me."

"You? Why should-?"

"Because Rodney's my partner."

Her eyes widened in understanding when John wrapped an arm around Rodney's waist and pulled him closer. She bowed her head, eyes closing for a moment before looking back up and into John's eyes, her own full of regret.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

John gave a soft, crooked smile. "It's a recent development."

His fear of losing his friendship with Rodney had blinded him to the possibility that Rodney could reciprocate his feelings. So he had waited almost six months after Rodney's affair with Jennifer had fizzled out before he stopped being a coward and told Rodney how he felt about him. John had even got a transfer request all typed up in readiness should it turn ugly but, instead, he had ended up with Rodney kissing the life out of him. He smiled as he remembered that first night, and every night since, lying sated and happy in their shared bed, wrapped in Rodney's arms.

"John?" Rodney sounded small and frightened.

Looking at him, John realized Rodney's fear was not impending fatherhood but the thought of this driving John away - damned if he took the boy in, and damned if he said no and sent the kid away. From the corner of his eye he could see the boy approaching timidly, looking scared but trying to be brave - just like Rodney. John thought about the city, and how the I.O.A. had finally opened it up for families following the defeat of the Wraith. Earth's sunlight was streaming through the ornate gate room window, casting a glow off the marble flooring, and the future felt so bright and full of promise for both this galaxy and Pegasus.

In less than two weeks, Atlantis would head back to Pegasus to help the people there start to rebuild their shattered civilizations, and the city would be filled with those hoping to be a part of that adventure. It was a chance for many to make a fresh start, like a new frontier, taking with them teachers, including those in the soft sciences that Rodney liked to mock.

Jeannie, Kaleb and Madison were now part of the city too, and though they were close family, along with Teyla, Ronon, and all the others who had made Atlantis their home over the past years, it wasn't quite the same as having his own family.

John drew the boy in close while keeping one arm wrapped solidly around Rodney, smiling in reassurance as he included Zach's mother, and he made a decision for all of them.

"I always wanted kids... a family of my own." His smiled widened as he saw the relief and adoration filling Rodney's eyes. "Looks like I just got one."

END


End file.
